Does anyone have a clear picture of the junction between the conical foremast and the fore funnel on the Missouri?

For some reason, the 4 ships of the Iowa class each have a different configuration of wire conduits and steam pipes on the sides of the conical foremast. On the Missouri, there is a large bell shaped steam whistle on the port side of the foremast, fed by a large steam pipe that rises up from the junction of the foremast and forefunnel.

The famous Gibbs and Cox large scale model of the USS Missouri disagrees in some respects with Floating Drydock plans of the Missouri in this area. It appears the floating drydock plans reflects what is seen in photographs of the Missouri taken after the 1945 refit when she received measure 22 camo. However, one aspect of the Gibb and Cox model in this area makes a lot of sense and is not clearly seen in any photo i’ve Seen. Gibbs and Cox was the naval architecture firm that actually performed the detailed engineering designs of the Iowa class based on general board specifications, so I hesitate to dismiss their professionally done drawing room model of the ship as being inaccurate.

The point is this. One the floating drydock plans and on popular 3D renderings of the Missouri, the steam pipe comes out of the junction right next to the conical foremast and rise straight up along the rear port side of the mast before turning or the port side of mast and from,there up into the steam whistle.

On the Gibbs and Cox model, the steam pipe comes out much closer to the funnel, turns and make a short horizontal run to meet the base of the foremast, before turning up along the back of the foremast to meet the whistle.

The reason why I think the Gibbs and Cox model configuration makes more sense is the junction between the foremast and dorefunnel is occupied by a series of state rooms. The configuration shown in float drydock plans requires the steam pipe to rise up through those state rooms. By Gibbs and Cox model the steam pipe would actually come up through the space between funnel jacket and boiler uptake. That just seem to make more sense.

So I am hoping fore a clear photo of the junction between funnel and foremast to settle the issue once and for all as I detail the foreword superstructure.

_________________Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

I've been very busy with lots of works currently, but anyhow managed to upload the new screw set in 1/200 today. It proved to be a LOT more work than I thought, and I ended up designing the whole thing from scratch. Works include: thinner and more refined blade designs, new hub based on bigjimslade's extracted profile, and holes designed to fit Trumpeter's metal shafts.Here is a pic of the design screenshot:

Shapeways' render:

I've also made a version for metal (brass/bronze) printing. Despite having to greatly thicken the blades to meet the minimum wall thickness requirement of 0.8 mm, the models as a whole look quite good. Render image:

Bronze models are fabricated using a complex five-step process. First, the model is printed in wax using a specialized high-resolution 3D Printer. It is then put in a container where liquid plaster is poured in around it. Once the plaster sets, the wax is melted out in a furnace, and the remaining plaster becomes the mold.

Molten bronze is poured into this mold and hardens quickly. The plaster is broken away, revealing your model. Raw Bronze is briefly tumbled. Polished Bronze is carefully cleaned and hand-polished. Please be aware that polishing can wear down very fine details and edges.

You could find these items on our Shapeways shop by the name Aop_Aur.

As for the 1/350 scale version, I'll rescale the new design and update the model, which is currently disabled for buying, but all sorts of works are flooding our schedule at the moment (art competition works, academic exams preparation, and piano practicing.)

In the floating drydock plans for USS Missouri, there is a box labeled “carbon arc locker” next to every 24” and 36” search light. I assume these contain spare carbon tips for electric arc mechanism for the search light.

Does anyone have a picture of such a locker? I want to know their shape and whether they are mounted on the deck or the bulkhead.

_________________Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

Does anyone know how the Iowa davits operated? Every picture I have seen of them has been in the up position.

This looks like the locking mechanism. Presumably the springs are to minimize impact if raised to aggressively. The thing above the springs looks like a latch that keeps the davit in the up position. I cannot tell where the break point is. I suspect that the davit has been welded in the up position (the four bars around the spring?).

Does anyone have clear picture showing the port side of aft end of the Missouri's superstructure during 1945? I want to verify the configuration of drain pipes, cable conduits and the perforated reinforcing beams around the aft air defence platform, and whether there was indeed a ladder on both sides from superstructure level 2 to level 3 just ahead of the aft air defence platform.

_________________Assessing the impact of new area rug under modeling table.

You'll find better photos of it from her sisters, especially Wisconsin and Missouri as they served for several years longer with it. As I recall, it's the control and data antenna for the Pioneer drone.

You'll find better photos of it from her sisters, especially Wisconsin and Missouri as they served for several years longer with it. As I recall, it's the control and data antenna for the Pioneer drone.

You'll find better photos of it from her sisters, especially Wisconsin and Missouri as they served for several years longer with it. As I recall, it's the control and data antenna for the Pioneer drone.

That's the first picture I have seen with the dome in place on the NJ.